 Digital Strips : Show 110 [7.37 MB] |
It’s been a long time but we have an interview for you. Before you get to it though there’s whole laundry list of site issues I get out of the way. Most important of which is the list of web comic prints that are in the contest.
In this episode we talk about:
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Hey guys! I see where you guys are coming from with saying the series *as a webcomic* would be far better inked, but calling Hunt’s writing misogynistic is laughable. I mean, really.
I just realized Brandon said that and went back and looked it up.
mi?sog?y?nis?tic: Of or characterized by a hatred of women.
Although I may not agree to the degree of degradation there was almost nothing supportive about the female characters in the strip. My hope though is this will turn around with May showing up later as the Colin’s and Banquo’s saviors.
I’m not saying the writing as a whole is misogynistic or that Hunt is a misogynist, I was saying that it seemed like an anti-women approach to the character.
I know the writer is a female, but that doesn’t mean the approach couldn’t be considered misogynistic. What does it say about your comic when the only female character is a self-loathing whore who would instantly jump to whatever side seems more appealing?
And I understand we need to see how it plays out…maybe it’s some elaborate plan and the self-loathing whore is just *pretending* to switch sides and will come through in the end with cunning and intelligence and we’ll find she’s smarter than everyone.
Trust me, I’m a flexible guy. I know that a story this early in its genesis (as far as unfolding, anyway, not in its length) hasn’t fully defined everything for the audience. But as it is, the approach to May is just another thing that pushes me away from enjoying the strip.
And, most importantly, misogynist is fun word to say.
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Dean, you be TRIPPE’N.
Is it at all possible that a female character can be unpleasant without the comic being misogynistic? It seems just possible that it is…
Admittedly, the fact that she’s the only female may show something, but there is, after all, only four real characters, so it’s not like there’s a pattern of misogyny.
I’m not too sure about the idea of May saving the day, because that seems too much like it could end up as a predictable, uninteresting way of making her into a “good guy” without any genuine character development.
All I’m saying is that the interpretation is base and pulls May back to the degrading stereotype of women being unfaithful whores. You guys are right, that’s not misogynistic.
This is the last time I’m going to repeat this. I didn’t say the comic was misogynistic (and if I did and somehow forgot, please remind me), I said the approach to this particular character was. But now I’m putting up a white flag because I’m tired of hearing about it.
Don’t we have more interesting things to discuss? Do you guys have anything to say about the comic or the rest of the review that happened before and after the word “misogynistic”?
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… misogyny.
I walked away from this for a while because I really like you, Brandon, but you’re way off on this one, and to be honest, your comments here have done more to reveal your own misogynism than the writer’s.
Tossing around phrases like “self-loathing whore” (which is inaccurate, of course, because the character LOVES herself) and saying that women are stereotypically perceived as “unfaithful whores” isn’t going to help you win an argument on gender issues.
It sounds to me more like you’re just starting to think about issues like this, and that’s a GOOD thing. But rather than getting defensive at outspoken comics feminists (like myself) saying you missed the mark this time out, maybe you should just take a step back and chalk this one up to learning about the subject.
Note: misogynism may not actually be a word.
Word or not, misogynism really is fun to say.
I think I was more trying to get across that she loathes being a whore because I seem to recall some form of mention at one point. It’s been a while now and my memory hasn’t held on to this strip very well.
There is a belief among true misogynists (not just the casual ones) that women are conniving and self-serving, that their loyalties lie with whatever party best serves their ends. I don’t feel that way, but I certainly know of people who do. I don’t mean they’re generally stereotypically perceived that way, I just mean by the true woman-haters of the world. And that’s a collective that doesn’t include me. You can ask my girlfriend when she finishes washing my feet.
I’m all about stepping back on this (in fact, I already head). I’ve had similar discussions with other people and see that my approach was strong. I didn’t mean to offend the writer or out myself as some hypothetical misogynist and I certainly didn’t want my comment to take away from the real discussion and analysis about a strip that I feel has room for improvement and is WORTH improving.
I respect you immensely, Dean, and didn’t mean to come across as defensive (except that I was defending myself from many angles at that point, so it was a natural reaction). Trust me, a single word tossed into a podcast recorded at the end of a crappy day has caused no end of problems.
So this is me stepping away, admitting ignorance in the situation (I say this neither sarcastically nor tanrum…ily), and apologizing.
My girlfriend’s done washing my feet now, so I’m going to go demean her in front of her friends.
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